The City of Flin Flon’s bus system will soon get a lot easier to use for people with mobility issues.
According to correspondence received by the City and obtained by The Reminder, the City will be receiving up to $1,776,000 through a federal funding stream to buy an accessible bus and remodel local bus stops to make them more accessible. The money will come from the Permanent Public Transit Program (PPTP) and its Rural Transit Solutions Fun (RTSF).
That money will cover either up to $1,776,000 or up to 80 per cent of the cost to do the work, with the City having to cover the remaining cost. The total estimation for project cost is around $2.1 million, putting the City’s share at around $400,000. The 80/20 split is a rarity for a project like this - typically infrastructure funding from either the federal or provincial government is given to a municipality on a 50/50 or 60/40 split between grants and local costs.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your collaboration and commitment to the successful delivery of the RTSF,” reads a letter sent from federal housing and infrastructure minister Sean Fraser to the City.
“I look forward to working with you as we continue to implement public transportation infrastructure for the benefit of all Canadians.”
Much of the project will be to connect the City’s 10 bus stops with existing sidewalks, allowing anyone in a wheelchair or walker to access the stops - not all of those 10 stops are accessible for people with mobility challenges. Along with that bus will come building bus shelters and redoing curbs and sidewalks to allow people easier access to the stops.
The bus itself and the construction of the surrounding infrastructure will take at least 18 months before it is fully operational - the City has not yet ordered the bus and estimate it will take about a year and a half to arrive in the north.
“It’s my understanding that it takes 18 months to receive the bus once we order it,” said City chief administrative officer Lyn Brown at city council’s Feb. 20 meeting, where the funding was discussed publicly for the first time.
“Hopefully we can get it before then, but that is the timeframe in terms of supply.”
The project will include whatever new additions will let more people get onto buses more easily -“whatever it takes,” said councillor Bill Hanson.
“The original grant was written to connect all the bus stops by sidewalks, where we can - I only say that because in some places, it’s virtually impossible to put something there in terms of sidewalks, but it’s to make sure the infrastructure is there,” said Brown.
“I think there are more people who are in a wheelchair who would use this service, but it’s just not available right now - they’d have to use the Lions Handi-Van,” said Hanson.
Flin Flon is one of five Manitoba communities that operate their own municipal bus service and one of only two in the north - Thompson also operates a local bus service, along with Winnipeg, Brandon and Selkirk. The five local bus systems received around a combined $13 million in provincial funding in last year’s Manitoba budget - only about $3,000 of that made it to Flin Flon. There hasn’t been any new information about changes in transport funding models this year or whether more or less money will come from provincial legislature.
Councillor Alison Dallas-Funk said the City, at a time of declining revenue, could use the federal money to improve a transit system that might otherwise not see improvements like the ones it will get.
“It's great for our community and when we are working with a less budget and don't have a lot of money to put into sidewalks or the bus, this came as a really great opportunity for us. We're really excited about it,” she said.
“Accessibility is so important. It's not just the overall usage - the ridership is going to improve, I think, but if you're someone, a young person, doesn't matter how old or how young you are, and you need to use even a walker with a seat on it, or you need to use a wheelchair with someone with you for help, this is huge,” said councillor Judy Eagle.
“It’s important to know - many of us don't really think of that. I think we would be thinking about that a lot more if we had to use aids to walk or ride or get places - and new bus shelters are never a bad idea.”
